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The Twelve Days of Christmas
With art so stunning it glistens like freshly fallen snow, this cozy Christmas tale is an essential treasure for anyone celebrating the holiday season!
Bursting with gorgeous illustrations that accompany the lyrics to this classic carol, the festive artwork and jolly characters capture all the merriment of the popular Yuletide tune. Randall's style feels charmingly classic while also strikingly contemporary, making this particular partidge in a pear tree the perfect one for the modern reader. The joyful pictures and beloved song are sure to make this a recurring holiday favorite.
Bursting with gorgeous illustrations that accompany the lyrics to this classic carol, the festive artwork and jolly characters capture all the merriment of the popular Yuletide tune. Randall's style feels charmingly classic while also strikingly contemporary, making this particular partidge in a pear tree the perfect one for the modern reader. The joyful pictures and beloved song are sure to make this a recurring holiday favorite.
26 pages, Hardcover
Published October 17, 2017
3 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
December 12, 2019
The illustrations are pretty but ultimately didn't make a big impression on me. Includes POC characters so, yay, but I felt it might also be nice if some of those places where gender roles could be more flexible were less traditional -- I get it for the maids a-milking but would have been nice to see both male and female drummers drumming, for example.
December 18, 2019
The classic carol of The Twelve Days of Christmas gets a new picture-book treatment in this edition featuring the artwork of British illustrator Emma Randall. Each two page-spread of the book features a verse from the song, paired with Randall's depiction of that day's gift, as well as all the previous ones. The final spread is quite crowded with presents, and concludes on the following page with final words...
I found this presentation of The Twelve Days of Christmas cute, but not terribly memorable or impressive. Christmas carol picture-books are an annual holiday project of mine, and I have at this point read eight other traditional picture-book presentations of The Twelve Days of Christmas, and four revisionist and/or pop-up ones. After such beautiful editions as those done by Laurel Long or Jane Ray, or such adorable ones as that done by LeUyen Pham, this one just fell a little short. I did appreciate the diversity of people depicted, in those verses dealing with people, and am a little bewildered by some of the negative reaction to that diversity - some rather confused commentary on the depiction of brunettes, it seems to me - but that alone wasn't enough to make this one stand out for me. There's nothing really wrong with this version, and I think those looking for cute picture-books featuring this carol might enjoy it, but if I had to recommend a picture-book version of The Twelve Days of Christmas, I'd recommend one of the three mentioned above.
I found this presentation of The Twelve Days of Christmas cute, but not terribly memorable or impressive. Christmas carol picture-books are an annual holiday project of mine, and I have at this point read eight other traditional picture-book presentations of The Twelve Days of Christmas, and four revisionist and/or pop-up ones. After such beautiful editions as those done by Laurel Long or Jane Ray, or such adorable ones as that done by LeUyen Pham, this one just fell a little short. I did appreciate the diversity of people depicted, in those verses dealing with people, and am a little bewildered by some of the negative reaction to that diversity - some rather confused commentary on the depiction of brunettes, it seems to me - but that alone wasn't enough to make this one stand out for me. There's nothing really wrong with this version, and I think those looking for cute picture-books featuring this carol might enjoy it, but if I had to recommend a picture-book version of The Twelve Days of Christmas, I'd recommend one of the three mentioned above.
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December 22, 2020Loved it! A Christmas classic!
December 28, 2018
Charming. Not more, but not less.
December 8, 2022
Reading/singing this with kids is so delightful that it makes me enjoy the song and the memories made while singing it together.
September 9, 2019
Minus 3 stars - Aryan misconception that if you have brown or black hair, you are dark and not from The West and also that The West doesn't have non-caucasians and that other non-West nations don't have caucasian or light people, overall confusing and misleading.
The wording is the same as any Twelve Days of Christmas book, Illustrations look like It's a Small World Disney ride. Overall, not that great.
The wording is the same as any Twelve Days of Christmas book, Illustrations look like It's a Small World Disney ride. Overall, not that great.
September 17, 2019
Illustrations based on the original song of The Twelve Days of Christmas. It's a very detailed book but I can't figure out if the pictures are in a matryoshka style or in a Dutch drawing style. In my opinion, the only fault this book has is that the brunettes are not drawn very pretty.
November 23, 2020
What do you do when it's literally July and the preschooler requests this holiday favorite? You sing-read it at the top of your lungs like amateur opera singers. That's what.
Seriously though, this book is beautifully illustrated and such a classic addition to any home library... so good you can read it in July, or whenever you want.
Seriously though, this book is beautifully illustrated and such a classic addition to any home library... so good you can read it in July, or whenever you want.
December 5, 2017
Randall, Emma (illustrator) The Twelve Days of Christmas. PICTURE BOOK. Penguin Workshop, 2017. $17. 9780515157635
I have to say it – Randall’s style of illustration in this book reminds me of famous Disney illustrator Mary Blair! The scenes are all so sweet, I couldn’t wait for the “true love” to be revealed at the end. Reading and pondering this book just gave me joy, which is the perfect byproduct of reading a great picture book. Just like DelCampo’s Nutcracker is my favorite of that title, I think I have found a favorite Twelve Days.
Pre-K, GIFT – ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library Teacher
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...
I have to say it – Randall’s style of illustration in this book reminds me of famous Disney illustrator Mary Blair! The scenes are all so sweet, I couldn’t wait for the “true love” to be revealed at the end. Reading and pondering this book just gave me joy, which is the perfect byproduct of reading a great picture book. Just like DelCampo’s Nutcracker is my favorite of that title, I think I have found a favorite Twelve Days.
Pre-K, GIFT – ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library Teacher
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...
December 16, 2017
A festive picture book worth picking up! Featuring the lyrics for the Christmas classic, The Twelve Days of Christmas, Emma Randall's illustrations bring this beloved song to life. Each page features the next part to the song, along with bright illustrations to match the words. It will be hard reading this book without singing the lyrics out loud. I really like that the illustrations had a beautiful eastern European feel to them. This book is a cheerful holiday picture book that will be treasured for years to come.
REVIWED http://mundiekids.blogspot.com/2017/1...
REVIWED http://mundiekids.blogspot.com/2017/1...
January 20, 2019
3.5 stars.
The story is literally just the song, but I probably would have loved this as a kid. The artist does not skimp on the details and, just as in the song where the entire cavalcade is repeated in full with each new gift, each new two-page spread contains the entirety of each previous gift until on the twelfth day it's pretty much just chaos. Along with the detailed border that runs the perimeter of each spread, at five years or so I would've spent many an hour just poring over all the little details in a book like this.
The story is literally just the song, but I probably would have loved this as a kid. The artist does not skimp on the details and, just as in the song where the entire cavalcade is repeated in full with each new gift, each new two-page spread contains the entirety of each previous gift until on the twelfth day it's pretty much just chaos. Along with the detailed border that runs the perimeter of each spread, at five years or so I would've spent many an hour just poring over all the little details in a book like this.
October 27, 2017
The illustrations are playful as well as informative. Many of my students have sung this song over the years, making hilarious mistakes because they do not understand what the lyrics are describing. Children will have no problem figuring out and remembering the correct lyrics after reading this book and observing the well-designed illustrations.
November 20, 2018
It's just the Twelve Days of Christmas lyrics, but the illustrations are quite lovely. Worth it for a kid that will pour over every detail, but it's not noteworthy without the illustrations. Pass unless you need an updated 12 Days of Christmas.
October 26, 2020
An illustrated picture book version of the classic Christmas carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” with illustrations by Emma Randall. The illustrations are lovely and I like that several races are represented. Overall, a nice version of the song.
October 18, 2017
I'm in love with the folkart in this book. Not only is it a classic Christmas tale/song, but it also lets the child explore folkart as well.
October 22, 2017
With old fashion illustrations the traditional song of the 12 Days of Christmas is told.
November 3, 2017
Beautiful folksy illustrations with the classic Christmas tale.
November 10, 2017
Such beautiful illustrated scenes!
December 7, 2017
Any book with these lyrics is a treat. This illustrator offers folk-style illustrations.
December 8, 2017
The illustrations are wonderful!!!!
December 18, 2017
Very pretty.
November 30, 2018
Lovely illustrations to a somewhat irritating Christmas classic.
December 12, 2018
Illustrations are top-notch, kid friendly, and packed with detail!! I love the floral borders--it reminds me of Frozen
December 20, 2018
Absolutely love these illustrations. They remind me of Slavic embroidery.
December 11, 2019
This book is simply the lyrics to the song. My little one and I enjoyed singing it as we read. Illustrations are cute.
December 16, 2019
Love the illustrations. The words are as expected.
December 26, 2019
Love the illustrations!
December 28, 2020
Beautiful pictures!
October 20, 2021
This is a delightful picture book illustrating the Christmas song. Nice ethnic diversity in the human characters! It's from a child (giver & receiver) point of view!
November 15, 2021
It's just a picture book version of the song "Twelve Days of Christmas." Very cute art and a fun way to read and sing at the same time!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews